AN AUSTRIAN NATIONAL SQUAD IN THE DTM: GRT SIGNS MICK WISHOFER AS TEAMMATE TO CLEMENS SCHMID

The bull from Styria will be wearing red-white-red in the DTM in 2023. The Grasser Racing Team from St. Margarethen near Knittelfeld will take on the prestigious racing series this season with two Austrians. In addition to the Tyrolean Clemens Schmid, the second Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 of the racing outfit supported by Lamborghini Squadra Corse will be driven by Mick Wishofer from Vienna. The newcomer in the number 19 car will make his debut in the legendary championship at the official DTM test in Spielberg on April 15 and 16.

At the age of 23, Mick Wishofer can already look back on a varied career in motor racing. After karting, he made a name for himself in ADAC Formula 4 in 2017 and 2018. In the highly competitive junior series, he became a winning driver, leaving today’s Formula 1 juniors Jack Doohan and Liam Lawson behind him, among others. In 2019, he switched to sports cars while staying within the ADAC platform of racing series.

In the GT3 category, Wishofer seamlessly continued his successes from formula racing. From 2019, he competed in the ADAC GT Masters with different manufacturers and celebrated victories and podiums as well as a pole position. In the previous year, he gained his first experience with the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO, being victorious in the league of super sports cars. In addition, he competed for the first time in the silver category of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, where he finished the season in seventh place alongside his teammates.

In 2023, the promotion to the top class of GT3 racing is next for him in the colors of GRT. Together with Clemens Schmid he forms a line-up that makes the team around team boss Gottfried Grasser the Austrian national team of the DTM. With starting numbers 19 and 63, the duo also represents Lamborghini’s history. The Italian sports car manufacturer traditionally competes in motorsport with the starting numbers derived from the founding year 1963 and celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.

Last year, Grasser Racing impressed right away with podiums, pole positions and fastest laps on their debut in the DTM. With Clemens Schmid and Mick Wishofer, the Lamborghini team wants to build on the success this season. The season opener will take place from 26 to 28 May in Oschersleben, but the action will already kick off this weekend. The official tests for the 2023 DTM season will take place at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg on Saturday and Sunday.

Mick Wishofer: “I’m super happy and very grateful to Gottfried and the team for this incredible opportunity. Driving in the DTM is a dream for any driver in GT racing. At the same time, it’s a big challenge that I’m very excited about. I know the Lamborghini from last year and the team has already done intensive set-up work with the new EVO2, which puts us in a good starting position. I’m really looking forward to the official DTM test and the preparations. However, it’s still too early to set targets. The first few weekends will serve as an orientation. I’m confident that we have great potential as a team and, given the right conditions, can put on a good show. I can hardly wait to get started.”

Gottfried Grasser, Team Principal of GRT: “We are more than happy to welcome Mick as part of our team. Our debut season in the DTM was a great success and we worked hard over the winter to set ourselves up in the best way for 2023. With Clemens, we have a driver who has an enormous amount of experience and knows the team and the car very well. Mick has stood out in recent years as a promising young talent in GT racing, and his season in the Lamborghini gives him the perfect prerequisites. With the two of them we have a strong line-up that complements each other perfectly. To compete with two Austrians naturally has a very special touch for us as a team. It makes us proud to represent Austria as a motorsport nation with two home heroes in the DTM. The home race at the Red Bull Ring, which has always been special for us, will therefore only be more enjoyable this year.”

Source. GRT Grasser Racing/Photo. Gruppe C